Pore loops of the AAA+ ClpX machine grip substrates to drive translocation and unfolding.
Proteolytic AAA+ unfoldases use ATP hydrolysis to power conformational changes that mechanically denature protein substrates and then translocate the polypeptide through a narrow pore into a degradation chamber. We show that a tyrosine residue in a pore loop of the hexameric ClpX unfoldase links ATP hydrolysis to mechanical work by gripping substrates during unfolding and translocation. Removal of the aromatic ring in even a few ClpX subunits results in slippage, frequent failure to denature the substrate and an enormous increase in the energetic cost of substrate unfolding. The tyrosine residue is part of a conserved aromatic-hydrophobic motif, and the effects of mutations in both residues vary with the nucleotide state of the resident subunit. These results support a model in which nucleotide-dependent conformational changes in these pore loops drive substrate translocation and unfolding, with the aromatic ring transmitting force to the polypeptide substrate.
Martin
Andreas
A
Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Baker
Tania A
TA
Sauer
Robert T
RT
D000074183:ATPases Associated with Diverse Cellular Activities; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D049071:Endopeptidase Clp / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018832:Molecular Chaperones / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011489:Protein Denaturation; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000378:metabolism
D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D018832:Molecular Chaperones; D021122:Protein Subunits; D014443:Tyrosine; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D049071:Endopeptidase Clp; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; C088072:ClpX protein, E coli; D000074183:ATPases Associated with Diverse Cellular Activities